A BURDEN IS LIFTED, AND A SHUTTLE IS PREPARED FOR ITS FINAL DESTINATION

By PATRICK McGEEHAN

Published: May 14, 2012

PHOTOS: Before dawn on Sunday, a crew working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration lifted the space shuttle Enterprise off the 747 jet that had carried it to New York City two weeks ago. The eight-hour procedure, which NASA calls ''demating,'' took place at Kennedy International Airport, where the Enterprise will stay until early June, when it is scheduled to be taken to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan. The museum's trustees paid NASA about $9 million to deliver the Enterprise, which had been on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia. The shuttle is scheduled to move on June 6 to the museum, which plans to open the shuttle display to the public on July 19. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT STOLARIK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)